Latest / MBV President's Podcast / Emma King - Football, Architecture and Life Beyond the Game

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Emma King - Football, Architecture and Life Beyond the Game · MBV President's Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: This podcast was recorded on the 14th of September after round five.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: North Melbourne has since lost one game in round six.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: Founded in 1875, Master Builders Victoria has been supporting excellence in building and construction for generations.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: We represent professionals across Victoria and work together to shape a stronger future for our industry.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: In our President's podcast series, we'll bring you the latest news and share the stories of the people who make our industry great.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_03: Welcome to the President's Podcast.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_03: I'm Steve Peluso, president of the Master Builders Victoria, and a builder with over 30 years in the construction industry.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_03: This podcast is about real conversations with real people.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_03: No corporate spin, no scripted answers, and no.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_03: We talk to people across industry about what actually happens in construction, the wins, the mistakes, and the lessons.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_03: So let's get into it.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_03: Today's guest has had a career that crosses two very different worlds construction and elite sport.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_03: Emma King studied architecture and worked in residential design and drafting before building an outstanding AFLW career.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_03: Now she worked for Metricon Homes.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_03: She was there at the beginning of the AFLW competition, has represented both Collingwood and North Melbourne.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_03: Let's not hold Collingwood against her, has been an all-Australian part of North Melbourne's leadership group, and has now been part of back-to-back premiership teams.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_03: What interests me about Emma's story is what those two worlds have in common: being building teams, developing people, and preparation, leadership, and creating a culture people want to be part of.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_03: Emma, welcome to the President's Podcast.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you for having me.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_03: Now, you grew up in WA and started playing footy when you were only six.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_03: Where did that love come from from the football?
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I think it it started with my older brother, Kiefer.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_02: He was just uh, you know, the typical boys play footy and girls play different sports, not necessarily netball, we're not a netball family, but um yeah, he we had to go down and watch him play football, and I thought I'll have a crack at that.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_02: So joined the next year and um the rest is history pretty much.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_03: So at what age did you did you think that there'll be eventually a professional, you know, competition for women?
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_02: It's funny when I was uh I was at Quinn's District, which is um the same club that the Hill brothers, Stephen and Bradley, played at.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_02: My brother played with Bradley Hill.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but yeah, the the president at the time, um Dave uh he he was Dave Burton, sorry, that's it.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_02: He was um really passionate about uh seeing females as as far as we could go and um he backed me in every single year to just um push the push the lens on where you know could I be the first female to play in the play in the men's series?
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_02: And that's that's how old I'm I'm showing my age here when it was not even a a concept of the AFL W W coming around, but um yeah, it's exciting that yeah, I was in the right time at the right place.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_03: And you're actually the first woman to touch the AFL ball at an at an official game.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_03: The first first game, yeah, yeah, first center bounce, yeah.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_02: Lucky enough to be part of that.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_03: So that that's uh that's one that will never sort of uh go away.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_02: No, history, yeah.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_03: Um now you studied architecture and then worked at residential design and drafting.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_03: Now for Metricon Homes, which so what attracted you to the buildings and design?
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_02: Um a little another funny one.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_02: Um in year 11 didn't know where I wanted to go and um what the future looks like.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, I think everyone in my life assumed it would be something within sport, but um, I always wanted to be the athlete if it was in sport, not supporting other athletes.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_02: So the physio things that that wasn't really the path I wanted to go down.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_02: Um and I liked woodwork, I liked you know being busy with my hands and that sort of stuff.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but the family, my parents very much wanted us to go to university.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_02: So um the alternative to the you know, being a carpenter was to help design the building.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_02: So that's where architecture came in.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_03: So what did you I mean, what did you enjoy the most about that, you know, especially with the design work and so forth?
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_02: Just building spaces that like are functional and um you know, yeah, creating environments, um, you know, homes, um museums, just like having that design, but also providing a functionality um aspect to it.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_03: So when you left WA, you come here and you got you worked for you got that job for Metricon.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_03: And then in between you were training, obviously.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_03: So how did you do manage both?
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it was pretty full on.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_02: The first couple of seasons uh in the AFLW, we actually trained after hours so that um most players could be working or studying um during the normal nine to five sort of work times.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_02: And yes, I was working full time at Metricon um nine, nine till five, and then you travel straight to the club um and you're you're there till about 10, 10:30.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, so you were going from Waverly down to um Arden Street.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_02: Coming home and then getting up early, yeah.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_03: Perfect time to be on the club.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_03: Well, you could have actually you could have ended up Wavely Hawthorne back then.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_03: That would have been around the corner.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_03: So bad luck to Hawthorne.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_03: Um as you can see, uh, we're pretty well good uh supporters.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_03: Um so but from the construction or design, um did that help you cross into the way you approached football?
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_03: You know, that um the way you you you you put design on paper or in a computer.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_03: Was that did that cross over into the football field or into the game?
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_03: Do you think?
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_02: Um I actually think it was the other way around.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_02: I think um aspects of the team, team environment, leadership helped me in my designing um yeah, back to that functionality, collaborative spaces.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, I have an interest in a bit of like urban planning, so just the whole landscape of how we move through the world and everything.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_02: So stuff like that, yeah, really interests me from that.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_03: You'd be able to to when they say 50 metres, you'd know exactly where the 50 metre line is.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_03: I'd hope so.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I'd very much hope so.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_03: So everyone's following Emma.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_03: Oh, she's on the line.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, okay.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I'm on the mark.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_03: So um now you were as as stated before, you were the first AFLW um female to touch the football in the first game.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_03: Um, what's what do you remember the most about that first season or that first game?
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_02: Um, it was pretty wild, it was pretty surreal.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_02: I think most of the girls are part of that first league, um, that first season will be able to tell you the same thing.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_02: You know, we're super grateful that they're they brought in the league um for AFLW.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_02: Um, thanks, Gil.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_02: And um, yeah, very, very exciting.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_02: The crowds elevated, but the one thing about the first game was um it was a lockout game, 22,000.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_02: Um they had to shut the gates.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_02: And my mum and my twin sister were there for for the first game, and um, because they were a part of the Guard of Honour, they actually, when they went, there was nowhere to sit, they actually stood in the aisle.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, okay.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_02: Everyone was standing in the aisle um because it was packed.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I think they didn't expect that many people.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_02: They didn't expect it, and especially to have to lock it out.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and yeah, just when we came out of the race, it was just deafening.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_02: The genuine cheers, and to know that that was there to support.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_03: I'm getting it now, yeah.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_02: Um yeah, to know that all those people were there to support women's football and like the progression that we're seeing um was super exciting.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, and then during the game, I actually couldn't hear a thing.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_03: So you couldn't hear the whistle blow?
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_02: Couldn't couldn't hear a whistle, couldn't hear your teammates calling for it.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_02: You had to just play on instincts, but uh although we lost that day, it was yeah, one of the best experiences.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_03: I mean you hear that a lot where you say when the crowd's roaring that you guys can't, you know, we don't expect we don't know that on the on the in the crowd.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_03: Where and then you'd speak to people like yourself and you go, Well, I can't hear anything.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_03: I can't hear the whistle.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_03: And then they wonder why you keep on playing on and then it gets pulled back or something like that.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_03: So yeah, it's it's amazing.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_03: But is that that moment that that game you thought we've got something special here?
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_03: Is that that moment?
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_02: I think um I actually reckon it was as the as the league's gone on, I think, you know, the the talent that's come through is really showing that you know women can play this sport just as much as the men.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_02: Um it's it's two separate entities in in their own.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and I think, yeah, I mean I coach under 18s uh at Oakley Chargers as well, so I can see the girls coming through the pathways, and it's really exciting just to see where the game's gonna go and how it's growing.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_02: Um and it's just yeah, where it elevated, I think, is as the teams have come in, um, we got to the 18 teams to match the boys, and um the talent is developing.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it's dispersing.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_02: Um, it's not just one team powerhousing, although North Melbourne are having a very successful run at the moment.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_02: The talent is spread a lot through the through the um the clubs, and it's really exciting the challenges that so is that where it's changed the most?
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_03: Is it the talent and the confidence for you know to get the younger the younger kids up through the Yeah, you're seeing girls who have started playing football when they were 12.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_02: I think in the first couple of years there was um athletes coming back from different sports, mainly basketball and soccer and stuff like that, um, coming back to their football that they may have played socially, you know, with siblings or friends um through their junior years.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but now we're seeing girls who've actually been playing football since Oskick or under 12s all the way through.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_02: So that talent's coming through, but also just mixed with the the level of professionalism that has come in the last couple of years.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I know for myself at North Melbourne we've changed to day training um since we got that boost in um you know financial security with the Ladar CBA we signed.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_02: Um and it just allows girls to take it more seriously, professionally, and be um remunerated accordingly.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, that's great because I notice there's even more Irish girls coming over to the city.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_03: And we love the Irish.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_03: But so what in your view um needs to be improved in the competition to keep it moving forward?
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think um we're actually having good discussions about it um with the new CBA coming up at the end of 2027.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_03: But um So just explain what a CBA is because we're builders, yeah.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_02: Collective bargaining agreement.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_02: There you go.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_02: Um so it's just yeah, a league-wide um a contract essentially of what we, you know, minimum standards, um, you know, how much we're gonna get paid, um, yeah, facilities, all the logistics around what makes the league go from a player's perspective.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_02: So what we want um in conjunction with the AFL.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_03: So when you joined North, um and which was the AFLW program um that was being established at that time, what did the club have to build from the ground up?
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_03: What was the difference and what did they have to implement?
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_03: Um, you know, what changes that you saw straight away that should they have to do this and this and this?
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_02: In terms of like bringing in a female team or just a new team?
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, a female team.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, there's a lot of you know, local clubs that are still, I I believe, still still struggling.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_03: Um but so where where does it, you know, where can you know the local clubs learn from North Melbourne?
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_02: Um it's a good question.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_02: When North started, uh W started, we actually had Laura Kane, who's now at the AFL.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_02: She was the head of um football at um North Melbourne at the time and has a lawyer background, so very, very smart lady.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_02: Um she she just implemented uh a program based off the men's program, so not coming in and going and separating us into oh, what do the women need?
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_02: It's how do we make a professional program?
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_02: Let's use what we already have, which is evidence from maybe not necessarily just the men's north team, but the the men's league and what's required.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_02: So um in terms of staffing, in terms of yeah, just like that level of minimum standard she really got us off on the right foot, um, put the right support networks around what a program is required to be a successful program.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_03: Which makes sense.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah, 100%.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_03: Um so how long does it take before a group of talented individuals genuinely become a team?
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_03: So I mean, you know, you would have seen it, especially because you've been there at the start.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_03: So when did it click?
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so the first couple of years we were under Scott Gowen, um, great coach, um, and then obviously COVID shifted a few things around.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_02: Um those first couple of years at North when we came in, uh, we had all the talent on paper, but not necessarily winning the games and converting that into success.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and then Croc came in, Darren Crocker on your Daz.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_02: Um, yeah, Darren came in and um implemented a game plan that uh, as you can see, took a few years to implement, but it was based off team first, um really role-playing individuals.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_02: And I think what happened with that is over time the uh the individuals that we had in the team shuffled, you know, we moved some players on, some players moved themselves on, um, just weren't the right fit for that role-playing style of football that um Croc had.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, the Croc had.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_02: And um I think that balance of role-playing versus talent that we had allowed us to be successful over time.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and that additionally to that, as a leadership group, we we really bought into that sort of um role-playing um aspect of the individuals and um that was our culture going forward.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_02: So we really, if you weren't, if you were there for your own individual success at the time, then you probably weren't the right people for the team that we had.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and I think, yeah, like I said, we put players got moved on, you know, essentially for those reasons.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_02: And we brought in players that, you know, um externally they'd go, why'd you bring in a player like that?
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_02: But they s they filled the role that we wanted.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and you can see it's bringing us success at the moment.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, you touched on that culture now, because you've been both sides of the fence, yeah, in in construction and and sport.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_03: Um, so con so obviously the culture people talk about the culture all the time, uh consistently in businesses and sport, yeah.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_03: So, what does culture actually look like inside a successful team?
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, you've probably touched on it.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_02: I th oh yeah.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, it's it's as bigger, bigger or small as you want it to be, but I think um having been a part of a team environment in sport my whole life, like I actually have no idea how to function without it being um team first sort of mindset.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_02: Um, it's really important the people you surround yourself with.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_02: I think people who in any sort of industry, any sort of workplace, the people who stay there consistently will go, oh, I just love the people I worked with.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_02: And that's that culture.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_02: You want to enjoy the space because that's what's gonna bring you, bring you back every time you come back.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_02: Um so it's that balance of fun, a balance of professionalism.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and you've just got to have the right people in that leadership space, in that collective cohort to help drive that.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_02: Um and it can come from anyone.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_02: So you yeah, I just think um it's really important who you surround yourself with.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_03: Um and that goes for business as well.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_03: Absolutely.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_03: Because you would have seen it in Metricon, because they're huge on culture.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and it's as small as um, you know, the different types of managers and um leaders within business, you know, if if you don't essentially respect your manager, it's hard for you to work for them.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_02: And that's where you're the same as your coaches and your leadership group.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_02: If I don't respect you because, you know, you haven't shown me, it's a it's a bit of a give and take sort of passage.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_02: I know when I was I went into a management role at um Metricon, um, you you've got to assist your team and uplift them.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_02: That's my mindset, for them to want to work for you as well.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_02: And that's how we're gonna progress forward.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_02: There's no point beating while they're down, they're just gonna they're just gonna leave.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_02: So you're not gonna get the best out of your your team.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_03: And that's when you can tell it's not working, yeah.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, that that makes so much sense.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_03: Um But now so you've been a part of North Melbourne's leadership group, what makes someone a good leader when they're not necessarily have the captain's title?
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_03: Because I mean you you're a standout.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_03: Nothing against the captain, but you are a standout.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think um you just gotta it just comes back to being your authentic self.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_02: You've got to don't go outside of yourself.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_02: Obviously, keep learning on areas that you might need to work on um in your leadership styles, but um, you've got to be true to yourself and um people respect that, they buy into that authentic authenticity.
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_02: And it's the actions, isn't it?
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_03: Actions speak out of the words.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_03: Absolutely.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_03: So that's what one thing that really stands out.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_03: Um so one thing about construction professional sport having common is accountability.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_03: Um if somebody isn't doing their job, every everybody else feels it.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_03: And how does a strong team deal with accountability?
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_03: Now you've probably touched on it with especially with the around the culture bit.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_03: So how do you guys see it when you know someone is slacking off?
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_03: And what do you do about it?
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_02: I think there's a time and a place.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_02: So if it's something in the game, it's probably not the best time to call that out and um have a conversation about it, but um really just circle back on those sort of moments.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_02: Um really wary on checking in.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_02: Not necessarily um an isolated event will be just as black and white as it sounds.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_02: Oh um, they missed, you know, or they did something selfish or in a work they've deleted a whole file, who knows what they've done or gone on their own whim.
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_02: Um, it might actually be something else that's completely different.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_02: You know, you check in on the person first, and if they're going, oh, I'm all good, then let's call out the behavior that that's not what we want moving forward.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_02: So um, and you've you've got to have that relationship, a really, really solid relationship for them to take that on board and to um be able to move forward in the right direction from there.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_03: Okay, that makes sense.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_03: So, because this fellow uh it and this is a trust thing.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_03: So, how do you build trust between teammates when also you need to challenge them?
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_03: So, you know, you know, when you push someone and they're going, Oh, do I trust them?
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, how do you do that?
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_02: Building relationships.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_02: And that's that's that yeah, but I think that's one of the biggest things that um specifically Darren Crocker did really well early days.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_02: Um when he first came in, we were in COVID and he caught up with everyone one-on-one online and and made sure that you know this random guy has come into the programme.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_02: I know he's been a part of North Melbourne's history and been a part of the club his whole life, but to us he was a random guy that's come in and became our head coach.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but he really delve in into building those relationships with the players, and um yeah, it's worked tenfold in the response that we've given him.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, okay.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_03: Um now obviously uh you've been there at the start, um, and you were the first um North Melbourne first AFLW premiership.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_03: Um and then the team backed it up again.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_03: Yep.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_03: Now what changed so did you see a change in the group from being competitive to becoming or becoming now you guys are the benchmark?
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_03: So you know, because everyone now is that's who we've got to hit.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, um what's that feeling like?
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, yeah, so leading into the 2024 premiership, there was we were the underdogs, we couldn't quite beat Adelaide, Brisbane, and Melbourne um consistently over the years, and then um getting into that 2023 grand final against Brisbane um was one of the highest moments, you know.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_02: We've been working so hard to get to that point.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_02: Unfortunately, we didn't get over the line that year, but the next year we came in Hungria and we're driving still an underdog because we still can't um knock off the top, the top uh three teams consistently, and then going into the 2024 grand final, really big fight um into the that and winning was unbelievable.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_02: But funnily enough, the group uh we didn't necessarily think we were the top dogs off that.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, I think that was the second time we'd beat Brisbane um as North Melbourne.
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so um, and they are arguably the most consistent team in the league, having been in seven grand finals.
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so that you can't wipe them out just yet.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_02: But um, yeah, the next year we came in hungrier than ever because we got excited about it.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_02: We didn't get complacent, we said we want to do that again.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and I think it's this year, this is a year that's changed into being a back-to-pack.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, we're on a 32 game winning streak.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_03: Um that's fantastic.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so I think it's I think it's different now.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_02: It's we just got to make sure that um we're enjoying the process, the journey that's coming along, um, making sure that we're not getting complacent in another win.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_02: Um, what's next?
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_03: Because it's all these little things that have to, you have it's a hundred little bits and pieces, isn't it?
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_02: These are the ones that are gonna keep us going.
• 21:13
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely, the one percenters, yeah.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_02: These are the things that are gonna keep us driving and the ones that are gonna keep us challenging um to make sure that we're firing all cylinders if we can get to that last.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_03: Being consistent, yeah.
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, that's so true.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_03: So, you know, I I look at construction and sport in a similar way.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_03: Not that I'm a sports person, but anyhow.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_03: Everyone sees the finished building or the the premiership cup, yeah.
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_03: Um, but they don't see everything that happened beforehand.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_03: So is the success mainly built well before the big moment, which it is.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_03: And you know, that the how, you know, I mean, when we win an award uh in the in the building awards, well, there's a whole process that leads up to that.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_03: And no different to you guys.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_03: And I suppose again it's that 1%, isn't it?
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it's it's definitely about the preparation.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, the classic saying control what you can control.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_02: But that's a part of the preparation and I think in terms of building building mindset.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_02: You don't just I mean, there's AI these days.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_02: You can plop a building in and you get one out in 30 seconds, but that's not that's not what comes out on presentation day for those um successful building um awards.
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_02: It's yeah, it's all months, years even, um, back and forth discussions, what's best for the client, what's best for the um the project.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_03: And that and that's the same as sport, as I was saying, yeah.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_03: There is a very huge similarity.
• 22:31
  SPEAKER_03: Now you've experienced environments that were traditionally dominated by men, both in football and around construction.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_03: So what have you seen work when creating genuine opportunities for women?
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_02: I just think the willingness to um to open open the field to to have women come into these spaces uh it it brings a different perspective.
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_02: Um we have a lot of women at North Melbourne who are in the um off-field space in administration.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_02: We've got Sonia Hood, Jen Watt leading the club, um, and I think they're doing a fantastic job in you know leading us as a female program and making sure that we've got equal opportunity as much as the the male program.
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_02: Um and I would say that we're leading the way in um the 18 clubs in that in that space as well.
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, for sure.
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_02: Um I just think yeah, different perspective comes in, um, different attitudes, really just brightens brightens the room in um the opportunities that can come forward from that.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_03: So what what do organizations sometimes get it wrong?
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_03: And and because you've been on both sides, you'll you'll know, you know, you'll you can probably recommend or not recommend, but you can see what we get it wrong, yeah, both sides.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_03: So what what do we get wrong?
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_02: I think just a narrow, a narrow mindset, a narrow point of view.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_02: You know, I think collaborative uh team environment my whole life, yeah, you've got to be open to a collaborative um space for as early as you know, projects we're talking about, where can we start?
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_02: It needs to be as broad as possible.
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_02: And then as we come in with the restrictions or game plan, whichever way we're going against a specific opponent, that's where you can like rein it in.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_03: Early intervention.
• 24:13
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 24:13
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_02: But let's leave it as broad as possible and let's bring in every different avenue because you never know what can come out of it.
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_02: But if you just go in with one eye open, you're not gonna have much space to improve.
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_03: That's great advice.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_03: So if a young woman was interested in construction, architecture, or professional sport today, what would you tell them?
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_02: Go for it.
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, absolutely.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_03: And would your advice be different from it um from giving it to a younger man?
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_03: No.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_03: No.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_03: Absolutely not.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_03: Just go for it.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, go for it.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, that's it.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_03: Go after it.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_03: So i if you walked on to a construction company tomorrow and the owner said, Emma, help me build a better team, what would you look first?
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_03: What's the what's the first thing you'd look for?
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_03: Because you're probably going to get that when you retire in a few years' time.
• 24:59
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 24:59
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_02: Um, yeah, I just look at the whole team as a as a as a whole and um how how that functions, the relationships going on in that.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_02: Um, it's probably management down, and then working on how can we um get the buy-in from essentially the bottom level up, um, and making sure that we're in a collaborative space.
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_02: Obviously, there's a hierarchy, but I think I'm I'm always going to be that collaborative mindset.
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_02: Um, a team works better together rather than um pointing fingers.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, so what you're saying, you start with the talent, the leadership, and then the standards, obviously, and the communication, the culture.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_03: So that all sort of flows.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_03: Communication and relationships.
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_03: So um, so turn that around.
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_03: Is there anything professional sport could learn from successful businesses?
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_02: Um yeah, I'd probably just go back to that that collaborative space.
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_02: Um, really clear communication, and that's all built off building genuine relationships with um the people within your space um because you'll always be working towards the same goal.
• 26:01
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_03: Now correct me if I'm wrong here, because um now you've reached 100 or 101 AFL.
• 26:07
  SPEAKER_03: 101 now, yeah.
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_03: 101 games after being there from the beginning.
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_03: When you look at how far the competition has come during those 101 games, what are the most proud what's the most proud to have been part of?
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_03: What the most proudest moment that you've been part of, apart from I mean what, you got two grandfathers, three proudest hanging it on your brother?
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_02: Hanging it on my brother, no.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_02: He's still uh he's still one of my biggest supports.
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_02: No, he's awesome.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_02: Um, not my brother.
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_02: We we're past that, and we're definitely past that.
• 26:42
  SPEAKER_02: I think just getting drafted was hanging that on my brother.
• 26:45
  SPEAKER_02: Um no, I think the first game's hard to go past just to see that it's real, it's a reality.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_02: Um the first touch, yes, just to be a part of that um experience and being able to develop that.
• 26:59
  SPEAKER_02: Um I think the proudest is probably it might sound a bit boring, it's probably signing that um five-year CBA, so that collective bargaining agreement.
• 27:09
  SPEAKER_02: So I'm a AFLPA delegate, so that's our players' association delegate.
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_02: So I'm a player representative and I've been in every year.
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_02: So we were signing one-year contracts, one year contract, and then we joined we did a joint five-year CBA with the men's um league as well.
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_02: And that turned the part-time aspect of AFLW training after hours into full-time hours.
• 27:31
  SPEAKER_02: Um, people can work off this wage.
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_02: Sorry, they don't have to work outside of this wage, you can live off this wage.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_02: Um, that was probably a huge moment for me and a proud moment to be a part of, knowing that we're going in the right direction and we can't go backwards from there.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_02: So it's only going to get better for the the future generations.
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, 100%.
• 27:51
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 27:51
  SPEAKER_03: You I mean you can see it, you can just see the momentum that's that's happening.
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_03: Um, so you've already achieved a lot in football.
• 27:58
  SPEAKER_03: Um, you've got a professional background outside the game.
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_03: Looking ahead, now what sort of uh work opportunities interest you?
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_03: I might have a job for you too when you come back.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_02: Good to know, I'll put it in my back pocket.
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_02: Um Well, I've I've actually gotten into a bit of coaching um and I coach under eighteens.
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_02: I coached Preston Bull Ants, first ever girls team from under-12s um through to the under-16s, and then got into Oakley Chargers in the um Academy, Academy League.
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_02: So that's really like piqued my interest in coaching, probably more prominently as my immediate future post-playing.
• 28:34
  SPEAKER_03: So coaching.
• 28:35
  SPEAKER_02: Um and just yeah, working on yeah, helping the talent.
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_03: Can I say maybe uh crocodile lookout?
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_02: Crocker Lookout, yeah.
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_02: Well, a while away for Crocks Drop.
• 28:45
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but yeah, very exciting.
• 28:46
  SPEAKER_02: I think there's a lot of girls in the first couple of years um that uh show a lot of um talent, and we can bring in that experience into the coaching space, which is probably somewhat something that's lacking, having experience, obviously.
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_02: Um XAFLW players coming in as as coaches.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_02: We've got Emma Carney, yeah.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_02: Emma Carney um with North Melbourne, which is she'd be an unbelievable coach.
• 29:10
  SPEAKER_02: Uh we've got Alicia Eva at Giants.
• 29:13
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I mean, there's plenty out there, but these are these are the ones off the top of my head that I can think of from the first year.
• 29:18
  SPEAKER_02: We've got Lauren Um Arnell was already a coach, Daisy Pierce, you know, all these coaches, Em Brazil.
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_03: There's a lot of talent.
• 29:25
  SPEAKER_02: There's a lot of talent, and I think that's where the next elevation's going to come from for the league is seeing these ex AFLW players coming back in and giving back through coaching.
• 29:34
  SPEAKER_03: Which makes sense.
• 29:36
  SPEAKER_03: So um we've got a bit of a rapid fire section.
• 29:39
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_03: Ten questions, don't worry.
• 29:41
  SPEAKER_03: It's not like um some of the others have gone through.
• 29:45
  SPEAKER_03: Um so favourite building or piece of architecture?
• 29:49
  SPEAKER_02: Guggenheim.
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_03: Okay, so hang on, pause.
• 29:53
  SPEAKER_03: Explain Guggenheim.
• 29:55
  SPEAKER_02: So the the museum?
• 29:56
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_02: Um Why?
• 29:58
  SPEAKER_02: Why?
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, I just think it's wild.
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 30:01
  SPEAKER_02: Um, especially when you see it in person.
• 30:03
  SPEAKER_02: It's just a really cool piece of architecture, I think.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 30:07
  SPEAKER_02: Nice spiral, um, elevator up to the top, and you walk down the spiral.
• 30:10
  SPEAKER_02: Um down, that's the design of it.
• 30:13
  SPEAKER_03: Residential commercial construction.
• 30:15
  SPEAKER_02: Residential.
• 30:16
  SPEAKER_03: Residential.
• 30:18
  SPEAKER_03: Plans on paper or walk walk in the finished building.
• 30:22
  SPEAKER_02: Plans on paper, love it.
• 30:23
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 30:24
  SPEAKER_03: Best teammate quality?
• 30:26
  SPEAKER_02: Best teammate quality.
• 30:29
  SPEAKER_02: Um that's a good one.
• 30:32
  SPEAKER_02: I was gonna say banter's pretty good, but everyone's pretty good at a bit of banter.
• 30:35
  SPEAKER_03: Um giving it back.
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_02: Giving it back.
• 30:39
  SPEAKER_02: Nah, I think uh just yeah, just toughness, I think, on the on the field.
• 30:46
  SPEAKER_02: You know, you've got the girls have got your back.
• 30:47
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah.
• 30:48
  SPEAKER_03: Best leadership quality?
• 30:51
  SPEAKER_02: Um relationships, building relationships.
• 30:54
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 30:54
  SPEAKER_03: One thing construction gets right.
• 30:56
  SPEAKER_02: Just keeping ever expanding with the with the way that the the world's moving.
• 31:00
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah, keeping up to date.
• 31:02
  SPEAKER_03: One thing professional sport gets right.
• 31:06
  SPEAKER_02: Um, giving the fans what they want.
• 31:08
  SPEAKER_03: Morning person or night person?
• 31:10
  SPEAKER_03: Morning.
• 31:11
  SPEAKER_03: Perth or Melbourne.
• 31:12
  SPEAKER_03: Perth.
• 31:14
  SPEAKER_02: Or it depends.
• 31:16
  SPEAKER_02: Beaches of Perth, but yeah, I've gotten used to living in Melbourne.
• 31:19
  SPEAKER_02: And the wine.
• 31:20
  SPEAKER_02: You mentioned the wine in Perth.
• 31:21
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, no, absolutely.
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_02: You can't go past the south west western Australia.
• 31:25
  SPEAKER_03: Premiership?
• 31:26
  SPEAKER_03: Another premiership or all Australian?
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_02: Oh no, another premiership.
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_02: Another premise.
• 31:31
  SPEAKER_03: Absolutely.
• 31:32
  SPEAKER_03: So you've been involved in building homes, building football clubs, and building successful teams.
• 31:36
  SPEAKER_03: What do you think people under and underestimate most about building something successful?
• 31:41
  SPEAKER_02: Uh it takes a lot of hard work.
• 31:43
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think it's not something that happens overnight.
• 31:46
  SPEAKER_02: Um, yeah, there's strategy, there's relationships, there's um, yeah, the grit and determination to do it.
• 31:53
  SPEAKER_02: But yeah, I think it all comes back to collaborative team environments for both of them to get the work done.
• 31:58
  SPEAKER_03: Emma, thank you so much.
• 31:59
  SPEAKER_03: Thanks for having me.
• 32:00
  SPEAKER_03: It's been uh an honour.
• 32:03
  SPEAKER_03: So I know our cameraman is also uh very happy.
• 32:07
  SPEAKER_03: Uh but thank you for uh coming in and spending you know a little bit of time and people you know in the construction industry at least understand um the other side, um especially in sport.
• 32:19
  SPEAKER_03: Um, because sometimes we don't sort of you know we do collide, but we don't understand where what you guys are going through.
• 32:25
  SPEAKER_03: And and it's not much different in a in a business uh construction and and sport, you know, as you've as you outlined.
• 32:31
  SPEAKER_03: So thank you so much, and uh hopefully we'll see you again soon in the prem in the grand final.
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_02: In the grand final, yeah.
• 32:37
  SPEAKER_02: No, thanks for having me.
• 32:38
  SPEAKER_03: Not a problem, thank you.
• 32:39
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you for joining us.
• 32:41
  SPEAKER_03: If you've enjoyed today's conversation, please subscribe, share it with someone in the industry, and help us continue having real conversations about the future of construction.
• 32:49
  SPEAKER_03: Until next time, stay safe, keep building, and remember that buildings we create are important, but the people behind them matter even more.
• 32:58
  SPEAKER_03: Speak soon.